Latest Reinsurance Headlines

All the headlines from our Reinsurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Surplus Lines Reform Legislation Reintroduced in Congress

Feb 11 2009 // Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services have announced plans they will introduce legislation that will create national standards for how states regulate the surplus lines...

S&P, Best Put Swiss Re’s Ratings on Negative Credit Watch

Feb 6 2009 // Reactions from the rating agencies to Swiss Re’s announcement of further losses (See IJ web site – https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2009/02/05/97610.htm) has been swift.A.M. Best announced...

ACE Q4 Net Income Drops 96% to $20 Million; $1.2 Billion Full Year

Feb 4 2009 // ACE Limited reported net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, of $20 million, a 96 percent decline from the $572 million the group posted in the same period of 2007. The company recorded net losses on...

Report Finds Cat Bond Market Resilient in Financial, Property Catastrophes

Feb 4 2009 // Catastrophe bonds withstood the impact of onerous market forces in 2008, brought on by turmoil in the global capital markets, according to a new briefing on catastrophe bond market activity.The cat bond market update,...

S&P Withdraws Emerson Re Loan Rating; Other Ratings Unaffected

Feb 3 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that its “ratings on Emerson Re Ltd.’s three bank loans are unaffected by CIG Reinsurance Ltd. and New Castle Re Ltd.’s (collectively the cedents)...

Greenberg Fights New York AG to Keep Reinsurance Testimony Private

Feb 2 2009 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, former chief executive of American International Group Inc., has gone to court to prevent New York’s attorney general from releasing testimony Greenberg gave in a state lawsuit...

Ratings Recap II: Chaucer, MSIG, Congregational, Top Layer, Asia Capital

Jan 30 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a bulletin indicating that “its ‘3’ Lloyd’s Syndicate Assessment (LSA) on Chaucer – Syndicate 1084 is not affected by the announcement...

Best Affirms RenRe and Subs ‘A+’ Ratings; Glencoe Raised to ‘A’

Jan 30 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Bermuda-based Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. (RenRe) and Dublin-based...

S&P Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Atlas Re V Securitization

Jan 29 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its preliminary credit ratings to the $200 million principal at-risk variable-rate notes series 1, 2, and 3 issued by Atlas Reinsurance V Ltd.“The sponsor...

Willis Re Appoints 17 Brokers to Drive Specialty Lines Growth in US, UK

Jan 29 2009 // Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global broker Willis Group Holdings, announced the appointment of 17 professionals “to extend the global growth of the unit’s specialty lines business.”Willis said the...

Former AIG Vice President Sentenced to 4 Years for Reinsurance Scheme

Jan 28 2009 // The former vice president of reinsurance of American International Group Inc. (AIG) has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate AIG’s financial statements, according...

Hiscox Comments on Renewals, Investments, Currency, Hurricanes

Jan 27 2009 // Bermuda-based Hiscox Ltd. has issued a summary of the January renewals, its expected investment returns and the effect of currency fluctuations, as well as its hurricane loss estimates.Hiscox said it has “seen good...

Max Cap CEO Letter to Investors Recaps 2008, Gives 2009 Outlook

Jan 26 2009 // W. Marston (Marty) Becker, Chairman and CEO of the Bermuda-based Max Capital Group has issued a letter addressed to the Company’s shareholders, employees and other stakeholders updating them on Max Capital’s...

London’s Reach Bolsters U.S. Specialty Lines

Jan 25 2009 // Find a need, then fill it,” is a hoary business principle, but making it work is often harder than it looks. However, a number of British insurers have taken it to heart and have built substantial profit centers...

Validus Ups Ike Losses to $235 Million

Jan 22 2009 // Bermuda-based Validus Holdings announced that it has increased its estimate of the net adverse effect from Hurricane Ike by approximately $70.1 million to a current total estimate of approximately $235.1 million. Validus...

S&P Assigns ‘AA-‘ Ratings to RenRe Europe; Outlook Stable

Jan 22 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘AA-‘ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe (RenRe Europe) with a stable outlook.“RenRe...

Catlin US Establishes Casualty Facultative Reinsurance Unit

Jan 21 2009 // The Bermuda-based Catlin Group Limited has announced the addition of Casualty Facultative Reinsurance to its portfolio of products underwritten by Catlin US.Scott Beall, Director – Casualty Facultative Reinsurance,...

Reinsurance Renewals Are Firming, Concludes Aon Benfield Report

Jan 9 2009 // Global reinsurance prices firmed for Jan. 1, 2009 renewals and are expected to remain firm for the April through July 2009 renewals, according to the January 2009 “Reinsurance Market Outlook” issued by...

Willis Names Fyfe Managing Director – Latin American Reinsurance

Jan 8 2009 // Willis International, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, has announced the appointment of Edward Fyfe as Managing Director of its growing Latin American reinsurance operations, effective immediately. He is based in Lima,...

Reinsurers ‘Unscathed by Financial Crisis’ Says Willis Re Renewal Report

Jan 5 2009 // According to a just issued report from Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Group Holdings, “the global reinsurance industry has remained substantially unscathed by the unprecedented turmoil in the global...